2 tickets to nowhere

Ok, ok...So I chose to be practical and by my wife (girlfriend at the time) brakes for her birthday...But hey, I was thinking about her safety!

This post will prove that we have both have had our share of mistakes when it comes to birthday gifts gone wrong.

I love comedy, and I have a few comedians that I would love to see live, one of which is Brian Regan. My loving and thoughtful wife took note of my wishes one day and decided that she would purchase me tickets to go see him live for my birthday.

Now, I was extremely excited to see those tickets, so you can imagine my surprise when I noticed the location of the venue. For those of you who aren't familiar with California geography, let me explain.

You'll notice in the picture that the tickets are for Redding, California which my lovely wife confused with Redlands California. The difference between those two places? Oh about 10 hours worth of driving...Needless to say we never made it to the show and couldnt get the refund as tickets are non-refundable.

Looking back we had some great laughs about that and I love my wife to death and I am so thankful that she loves me and has the patience to deal with me. God has truly blessed our life and mishaps like these make our marriage fun and exciting. I will share more on Monday at the launch of "Guys dont be creepy. Girls be kind."

Thoughts from my wife!

I love my husband dearly, although we have only been married 5 months, I have learned to love every little quirk that I have discovered so far. Next week is the launch of a new series for Generate Jr. High called, “Guys don’t be creepy, Girls be kind.”

We are both looking forward to it, and today at lunch we began talking about some of the times I have not reacted “nice” in our dating relationship. Last year for my birthday (my first birthday as boyfriend & girlfriend) Ronny took note of what I needed. He is a very practical guy and noticed the brakes on my car were bad. So being the awesome practical boyfriend he handed me a red box that said Toyota, unwrapped, and inside, brakes for my car.

I understand that brakes are expensive and that I DO need them to drive my car, however as girl, brakes is not what you imagine to get when in your mind, your relationship is a fairytale and you expect a white horse and carriage ride (with a live jazz band on the corner). Ronny had no idea I felt this way until a year later when I exploded on my birthday the following year. A very not nice reaction, when he was simply trying to take care of my needs as I do neglect my car.

I did marry the most incredible, wonderful, and sexiest man alive, but we are both still learning how to bless one another when it comes to birthdays. Be sure to come this Monday night as Ronny shares how I messed up with one of his birthday gifts!

Q&A after thoughts

I wasn't sure how this whole Q&A thing would go last night but after seeing what happened, Im convinced that we as a church should do this more.

I think that, in our normal liturgical routine of things we forget how many new, unchurched people come through our doors, sit through our service and leave never knowing why we do what we do.

For some people that have been coming, it opens up a whole new door for them to see the people on stage playing and singing as normal and not some super hero christian rock star. The environment that is created is truly one of family and for that I would do it all over again.

If you havent put much thought into explaining why you do what you do, maybe now is the time to start brainstorming cool ideas how to deliver that information.

Worship Questions

Have you ever wondered "Why we lift our hands during worship?"

Have you ever asked yourself "What is the purpose of worship?"

I think that sometimes as a church, we forget that new people are always coming through our doors and how much of a service we take as routine, but for the visitor it can seem confusing.

Tonight, we hope to answer some of your questions about worship and why we do what we do!

Guys Dont be Creepy...

Ok everyone so here it is, our new series for Generate Junior High "Guys don't be creepy, Girls don't be kind."

We will be hitting the obvious, dating, relationships and sex, the way that God designed these things to be. Make sure you let your friends know to be there as we hit things that churches tend to miss.

See ya in a few weeks for the Launch...

People of Prayer

Excited to talk about this in a few weeks and challenge the next generation to prayerfully give like they have never given before.

Check out this post from Tony Wood and what we as a body will be doing for 2010!

The Suffering Problem

It seems like Haiti just cant catch a break, with another aftershock that rocked them after the apocalyptic magnitude 7 quake that decimated the country just a few days ago.

Of course there are always those people that use this tragedy to leverage their argument against the existence of God. The claim from people is how a "Loving and good God could not exist if He allows that kind of suffering to happen." It's the same thing we heard after the Tsunami that killed 250,000 and after Hurricane Katrina that destroyed New Orleans.

What intrigues me about those comments is that, in them, is a sense of "fair play" or "justice" and that people, should not suffer or be excluded, die of hunger or suffer tragedy. However, evolutionary theory and natural selection depend on death and destruction to separate the strong from the weak, and so these things should just be natural.

So, by what basis do those people judge what is horribly wrong, or unfair and unjust? In those claims they assume that there is some standard of what is right or wrong or fair and just.

I am, like everyone else saddened by the tragedy in Haiti and never like seeing people suffer, but what I am sure of is that my God, who is real, is also sovereign and just and has reasons for things beyond what my small human mind can comprehend.

So I will put my trust in the Lord and not trust my own logic. Proverbs 3:5

What do you value?

I read this incredible blog yesterday from Justin Kownacki about how we as a culture put value on things based on what we choose to look at.

It was an eye-opener to me on culture and how it shapes us in ways that are not always apparent. For instance, when you wake up in the morning, is your first response to check twitter, facebook or email as opposed to checking news lines to see what kind of devastation is occurring in the Middle East, or how human trafficking is becoming a back yard problem in America?

Take a look at this post for yourself and see if you are as surprised as me.

http://www.justinkownacki.com/2010/01/18/you-are-what-you-choose-to-care-about/

Scary Thoughts

Have you ever been reading in your quiet time and been hit with something so deep that you cant even keep reading? You're forced in that moment to stop and really pour over what those words mean to your life.

It happened to me yesterday and Im still working through what it all means. In Proverbs 17:3 it says that, "The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the Lord tests the hearts."

I dont know about you but that hit me like a ton of bricks! Im sitting there asking myself, "Why am I doing all this?"Am I a preacher cause I love hearing all the accolades and praise from people, cause in some way it validates who I am? Or do I do it simply for the name of Jesus Christ?

In 1 Cor 3:9-15 that our works and deeds however great WE think they are will be tried by God to see what the true motive and heart behind them was. When I stand before God on that day, I cant lie! I cant say that I did it solely for Him when it wasn't.

Those are some scary thoughts that really have me praying and asking God to reveal my motives and heart and to purify me so that I can work wholeheartedly for Him. If you've never asked those questions I challenge you to ask them.

Anger Issues

Ive been really broken over this topic of anger and how, at times, it can permeate my soul and suck the life right out of me if I let it.
I've had some pretty intense and even embarrassing moments in my life where I have let anger own me and my actions and I will be sharing some of those on Monday, but Im interested to hear from you.

Have you had those moments where in just a few seconds anger consumed you, but shortly after you realized how unbelievably ridiculous it was. Maybe you've had something happen to you that you let sit and stew in your heart till it robbed you of all your energy.

Please feel free to share...Im curious if Im just alone in this...

UnHappy Meal

There is a video floating around, that if you have not yet seen it, showcases what I think is the growing trend of how we deal with anger in our society.

The video shows a woman upset because her hamburger was not quite the way that she ordered it. She proceeds to fly into a fit of rage causing over $1,700 worth of damage to the McDonalds restaurant.

Ill explain more on Monday, about how anger, when allowed to sit inside of us can cause us to act out in sometimes violent ways, ultimately leading to a vicious cycle of anger that never ends.

Paul said in Ephesians 4:22-23, not to let the devil have a chance, and by letting anger sit inside of you, you've left the door wide open!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9znFOdX5W4

The Real Me

So I was challenged by my a good friend (Mike Foster) to change all my pics that I have as profiles for Facebook, Twitter and my blog, to break away from the overproduced and slightly unrealistic pictures that most of us have.

Its a great challenge from the People of the Second Chance to get real and stop putting up fronts in our lives.

So, now I challenge you!

Preview of Generate Junior High

Im excited for tonight as we talk about the openness of the Kingdom of God and how those wide spaces allow us to live free of our problems and pains.

Check out this video of the passion from Junior High and the next generation

Narrow Places

Have you ever noticed that when you look through a narrow window, you only get a small perspective of what's really out there?

How about when you get stuck or placed in a narrow spot like and elevator or small space and become claustrophobic? It causes fear and panic sets in, to the point where some of us lose all of our ability to think rationally or logically.

If you've ever been in that spot then you know that in order to get out of that place, you must change perspective or location. Choosing not to focus on what is directly in front of you.

Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount did that very thing for the people standing right in front of Him. They were caught up in a very narrow place where it seemed that there was no hope for them, they were poor, destitute, outcast, spiritually depraved and without a glimmer of hope in the world to experience "heaven" according to the worlds eyes.

However, Jesus quickly assured everyone that around them was the availability of the "Kingdom of the Heavens" if they would only rely on Him for everything (Matt 6:33). This radical change in perspective opened up a wide place for those willing to have the heart transformation necessary to see that kingdom among them!

Are you stuck in the narrow places right now? Rely on Him and find the wide places to change perspective!

Open Kingdom

Murderers and molesters, drug lords and pornographers, war criminals and terrorists, the perverted and filthy, all of whom if we get real honest, wouldn't really feel comfortable having at our home, let alone the idea that they could be in heaven with us!

As I have been reading and understanding the "open-ness" of the Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus proclaimed, I'm blown away at how Gods grace can transcend all races, ethnicities, backgrounds and socio-economic status. I mean we can easily see our failures as something not too far from the grace and mercy of God, but when it comes to those listed above, we aren't so sure.

But thats just it! When Paul said in Romans 8:39 that there was "NOTHING that will be able to separate us from the love of God..." he really meant it, as funny as that sounds.

While I'm sure that statement will upset some, the truth of Jesus' message is that if you would extend your hand towards Him and rely on Him for everything, you can freely enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Its true that earth has no sorrow that Heaven cant heal, the best part is that you don't have to be dead to experience it!

99 Problems pt2

Super pumped about tonights launch of "99 Problems" and to get back to the full swing of things!

Just a few thoughts as we head into tonight:

1) What are the things in your life that have held you back from the relationship and life that God has for you?

2) Have you seen your physical body as the instrument with which to see God with?

I will give a clearer picture of what all that means for us tonight! Ill see you then...